Be it governing a country, managing a company, or running a house, leadership plays a key role. The type, or more specifically, the quality of leadership, sets the tone for successful outcomes. The world needs to understand that gender is not a determiner of ability. Unfortunately, convincing people of this is a huge challenge in a patriarchal society.

Thanks to this stereotypical male mindset, very capable women are not considered for top-tier positions despite the emergence of very powerful women in our society. Mackenzie Scott, Kamala Harris, Oprah Winfrey, and countless other figures have demonstrated that women can be leaders in their chosen field but this has not led to an increase in the number of women in leadership positions. As per the United Nations, only 22% of the national parliamentarians are women. 

In the corporate world, females occupy just 19% of the board seats and make up only 4.6% of the total CEOs in the world. The irony? In the United States alone, almost 50% of the college-educated workforce is comprised of women.

Many would leverage statistics to prove that male leaders are more capable than their female counterparts. The reality is different. We don’t have to dive very deep for examples. Did you know which countries were at the forefront of COVID-19 management and were the most successful in combatting its impact? Germany, Taiwan, New Zealand, Iceland, Finland, Norway, and Denmark.

All these are women-led countries. Isn’t this proof enough of their excellent leadership skills amidst a global pandemic?

It’s high time for the narrative to shift. For, as Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook’s COO, states, “Men still run the world – and I’m not sure it’s going that well.”

Powerful ‘Female’ Traits

The world labels women as ‘emotional’ and ‘sensitive,’ without realizing that these qualities are the very tools that make women strong leaders. All successful female leaders have one thing in common: their ability to respond quickly and clearly while considering the emotional needs of others. As stated in Forbes, “…the empathy and care which all of these female leaders have communicated seem to come from an alternate universe than the one we have gotten used to.”

Even though the world criticizes women for their compassionate and empathetic nature, this is exactly what turns them into dependable world leaders. It’s crucial to understand that leadership has nothing to do with ego and is all about how an individual can take a unified team forward.

Strong female leaders take an approach that has been, in the past, labeled as weak because they seldom operate from a place of ego. When it comes to male leadership, ego is an undeniable factor. As a result, men tend to be more adversarial while women lean toward cooperative behaviors.

Cooperation is what makes women strong leaders. They listen and respond accordingly. Women leaders don’t listen to aggrandize; instead, they listen to understand. This understanding enables them to strategize and find real solutions to problems. Their approach is not to play against another party but to strive for consensus to achieve goals.

Women are emerging as dependable leaders, taking, not just companies, but whole countries ahead of the competition. In light of this, the world’s narrative about leadership needs to change.

With that being said, we wonder how the world would function if the roles were reversed and a world of women leaders was established. To give us an insight into a matriarchal world, where women dominate every sector, give G Michael Smith’s The Prison of Power: A Man-Made Tale a read. It’s a fiction novel that flips the narrative, giving the reader insight into our male-dominated society. Will women rule as compassionate, empathetic leaders or will they rule like men? You can get a copy of this gripping book on Amazon today!